Inflatable ball



July 11, 1933. J, E MAYNARD 1,917,534

INFLATABLE BALL Filed May 20, 1930 EW ByhWHA/w fm vleaemea Y.hay 11, v1933 um@ STATES PATENT,

JOHN E. MAYNABD, or PLYMoUrH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, Assis-Noa 'ro rnnnnarnn- MAYNARD COMPANY, or rimarcare, New rmtrreniae, a CORPORATION onNnwbff.

HAMPSHIRE INFLATABLE BALL Appnanon ered' Mayan; 1930.; Serial No. 453,986.

This invention relates to inflatable balls of the type comprising a leather' or other' flexible cover. and Aan .inflatable member or bladder,l positioned within the cover and adapted to bc inflated ordelated through a hole or open-. lng in the c `iver,-andV more particularly to` means for detachably supporting` the valve structureof the bladder 1n the cover.

One of the objects of the invention 1s to provide the cover of an inflatable ball ora part attached to the cover, with means for receiving and detachablyv supporting rubber, metalfor other valve structures lof bladders; another object being to provide additional means which cooperates'with the receiving and supporting means to maintain the valve structure in place against accidental displacement during use of the ball.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing forming a part of this specilication wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in thevsev.- eral views.

In said drawing:

Fig. 1 shows onetype of inatable ball to which the valve supporting device invention may be applied.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view showing one application of the valve Y attaching and supporting Structure to the ball. Y

y Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially along I the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

; vention, and the method or mode of operation embodied therein, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing, since thel invention is capable of vother embodiments and `of being Ali practiced or carried out in various ways. so 1t 1s to b e understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for theV purpose of descriptionv and not of limitation,

and it is not intended, to limit the invention beyond the termsof the several claims hereto appended or the requirementsv of the prior art. j f Y i Referring now particularly to the' draw-y 1ng,;1t will beseen thatl have illustrated several methods 'of using thebladder valve ati taching and supporting device of my invent1on.A In Fig. 1 the device 4is shown` as apr plied to the ball cover or-casing adjacent the bladder insertion opening, and in Figs. 4 and 5 the device isshown as applied to the ball cover at apoint remote from the bladder insertion openingl Agame ball-is shown as a whole at and comprises a cover 11 having the usual bladder insertion opening 12 therein and reinforcing stays 13 and14 attached to the inside of the cover on oppositev sides of the bladder insertion opening. The cover and stays are provided with a series of holes or eyelets 15 adapted to receive the usual lacing16, to close the bladder insertion opening. `The ball cover and one 'of the stays are providedY with an aperture 17. When, however,

`itis desired to attachthe valve of the bladder so i' to the ballv casing or cover at a point remote from the bladder vinsertion opening, a similar aperture maybe provided in the-ball cover at anydesired location, such for example as at 170, shown in broken lines, Fig. 1.

The attaching device of my invention com prises,`preferably,` a disk-like tab ormember which may be in the formof a ring having acentral aperture or recess 21 and a slot 22 between the adjacent ends of thering com- 1nunicatingwith"the aperture. The ring'is also provided with holes 23 adjacent theends i thereof, which holes, when the device isfat tached to one of the stays of the ball cover, registerwith certain-of the holes or eyelets '15. The member 20'1nay be formed of any suitable material such as leather, fabric, orthe like, and may vbe flexible, resilient, orrelatively stiff, as desired. The member 20 may be attached to the casing inany suitable man# ner, such as by means of a row of stitching 24, as shown, or the inembei' may be cemented to the inner wall of the cover. lWhen the device is attached to the reinforcing stay 13, it` preferably surrounds the aperture 17 so thatl its central aperture 21 registers with the aperture 17." I have shown my improved attaching means used iii connection with a rubber valve A of an'intlatable member or bladdelBQbut it will be understood that the` de- Vice is capable vof receiving and supporting metallic valves, or valves formed of anyother desired material, with equal facility.

After the member 2O has been attachedto the inner face of the stay 1 3 by means of the stitching 25'-, it will 'be seen that the endsOd.

of the ring are free from the stay and are r capable of being Vflexed upon the insertion of the valve member. The bladder is'then inserted througlrthe bladder insertion open-V ing and thevalve stein passed through the slot 22 until it engagesY the 'central aperture or recess 21,the parts assuming thepositions in whichtliey are best shown in Fig. .3, wherein it willibe seen that the reduced end orfpost 30 ofthe valve member fits relatively snugly in the aperture 17 formed in the casing and is flush with the' outside of the ball'cover 11 s to exclude dirt or mud. The lacing 16 is then inserted *in the usual manner through' the holes or eyelets 15 and is also passedv through the holes 23 in the ring 20 thus niaintainiiig the normally free ends 20a of thering in contact with the inner surfzce ofl the stay 13 to hold the valve in position against accidental displacement.

Inthat Vform of the invention shown in F and 5, the ringQO is attached to the 2 inner facevof tlieball casing at any desired kte point remote from the bladder insertion opening bya row of stitching 24 as in the other form.`or itniay be attached to the casing by cemei'itiiig, or in any other suitable manner. rIhe bladder with its attached valve is then inserted through the lila dder insertion openingV 12 and the stein of the valvev passed through the slot'22 untilit engages the central recess or aperture 21. 'A separate lacing 40 may then be threaded through the holes fand tied to hold the valve stein in position in the recess 21 against accidental displacement. It is not necessary to use the lacing l0 .but when'it `is not used it is preferable to provide the ring of'relatvely stiller material so as to properly' support tlievalve of the bladder. It will be understood that 'wlienthe bladder is inflated, the frictioiial contact of it against the inner wall, of the ball cover assists in maintaining' tliebladder in position against accidental displacement muse. The

conventional lacing 16 is then threaded.

through the eyelets to close the opening 12. Inthis latter form ofthe invention it will be understood that the reduce'dfend of the valve'member vlits relatively snugly within the aperture 170 and is flushwith the outer surface thereof to exclude dirt and mud.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a bladder supporting member capable of quick attachment y'to-the ball casing and one which permits the Valve of the bladder to be slipped into place and held therein against accidental displacement, without the necessity of using threaded stem and socket members, or other relatively complicated and expensive constructions, such as have been used. heretofore with inflatable balls, Y

It is to be understood that the attaching member ofinyinvention is not limited to use in connection with inflatable balls but may be attached to any body capable of being in-` flated and with whichit'is desired to use an inflatable 'member capableof being quickly attached to or-detached from the body. i i

1. Airintlatable ball comprising a cover having a bladderfiiisertion opening, reenforcing stays connected with the inner face of said coverat opposite sides of said bladder insertion opening, a bladder having a valve structure attached thereto, said cover and said stayshaving a row of holes at each side of the bladder insertion opening, a" lace adapted to beiiiserted in said, holes to close said bladder insertion opening, the cover and one of said stays also having aiiaperture therein'spaced from said rows of holes, and a recessed disk attached to the inner face of one of said stays surrounding the aperture ytherein for receiving and removably supporting said valve structure, said disk having a slot leading into said vrecess through'whieh said valve structure is inserted, said disk also being provided with holes adapted to'register Ywith'lcertaiii of the holes in said stay and cover, whereby said lace'may be threaded through said registering holes to maintain the valve structure in said recess 1 against accidental displacement.V i'

'2. An inflatable ball'comprising a cover having a bladder insertion opening and ay f JOHN E. MAYNARD; 

